One Pot Beef and Cauliflower Gnocchi Stew
A low-carb camp stew built from a skillet of ground beef, dried vegetables, and shelf-stable gnocchi.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 58
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 900 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Olive oil | 2 tsp | |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef | 1 lb | cooked and dried at home, or a pouch of shelf-stable cooked beef |
| Dried chopped onion | 1/2 cup | stands in for 3 cups fresh |
| Dried celery | 1/3 cup | |
| Dried broccoli | 1/4 cup | |
| Tomato paste | 3 tbsp | tube, not can |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 1/3 cup | chopped, oil-free |
| Garlic powder | 2 tsp | |
| Dried oregano | 2 tsp | |
| Beef bouillon | 4 cubes or 4 tsp base | |
| Shelf-stable cauliflower gnocchi | 12 oz | vacuum-packed, not frozen |
| Dried spinach | 1/2 cup, loosely packed | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Grated hard parmesan | 2 oz | the dry shaker kind keeps for days |
Method
- Warm the oil in the pot and toast the dried onion, celery, and broccoli for a minute. It smells better than it sounds.
- Add 900 ml of water, the bouillon, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic powder, and oregano. Bring it to a boil.
- Drop the heat and simmer 10 minutes so the vegetables rehydrate. They will not soften later.
- Stir in the beef and the gnocchi. Simmer 4 more minutes, until the gnocchi float and go soft.
- Kill the heat, stir in the dried spinach, and let it sit two minutes under the lid.
- Salt, pepper, parmesan on top.
The original is a van-kitchen stew with fresh onion, celery, tomatoes, and spinach, and eight cups of broth. That is four pounds of produce and a lot of water to carry. Dried vegetables and bouillon do the same job at a fraction of the weight, and cutting the liquid to 900 ml gives you a stew instead of a soup you have to drink.
Cauliflower gnocchi is the part worth keeping. It thickens the pot and gives it something to chew on without the starch load of pasta. Buy the vacuum-packed shelf-stable kind, not frozen, or it will be a puddle by dinner. The tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes replace fresh tomatoes and carry more flavor per ounce than canned ever did.
Packing
Vegetables, bouillon, and spices go in one bag. Gnocchi and beef ride separately, parmesan in its own small container so it does not cake.
Variations
- Cubed shelf-stable stew meat instead of ground beef makes it eat more like a real stew.
- Skip the gnocchi and stir in instant potato flakes at the end if you are not counting carbs.
- A splash of the sun-dried tomato oil at the end adds fat and body.
https://vanlifers.com/5-keto-camping-recipes-for-your-van-adventures